As a rule I only post on photo per blog, and for good reasons. I am not a good photographer, I almost never have a camera with me, and therefore, I tend to keep them for some special occasion. But this story could not be told without the pictures above.

If you take your time and have a close look at the three photos, you will notice one thing in common, and it is not necessary the fishing. My father, myself and my son are all using the same rod and reel.

The complete outfit is perhaps five feet long, and the old casting reel can do more bird nests than flock of doves. I don’t even know its brand.

But there is one very special thing about it. This rod belonged to my grandmother, Genoveva, who really enjoyed fishing, and by my estimations it has been in the family for over fifty years (the first photo predates the others by about four decades).

“Old Dona Veva” currently resides at Fazenda Buriti do Retiro (municipality of Morrinhos, Goiás, Brasil) and it is still in use, almost exclusively to pull some smart fish from the dark waters of my father’s private pond, at the very end of the orchard.

Sometimes I think about kidnapping “Old Dona Veva” and bring rod and reel to my home in Michigan, where it would have a boring life in a highly visible place in my office, between books and big game trophies. But no, that would not be right.

I just cannot “Old Dona Veva” from “Tuim’s Pond”. Let them keep each other company.

Besides, if I stole that rod, I would have another big fight with my brother Rogério.

About Me

Rodrigo Tardelli Meirelles was born in Brazil, in 1969, and raised on the family farm, Fazenda Taboa, in close contact with the outdoors. By his own definition a dreamer and an explorer, Rodrigo was launched at a young age into a journey in search of knowledge that took him across countries and continents, and the world became the fertile ground where the stories in this book were planted and are now being harvested. True to the pioneer spirit Rodrigo set himself to explore the world, working and raising a family while maintaining his dreams alive and pursuing his passion for hunting and shooting wherever he goes. He currently lives in Traverse City, Michigan, with his wife Maria José, children Maria Eduarda and Daniel and their black lab Tupã.